Practice Kind Love
David W Palmer
(1 Corinthians 13:4–7 TLB) “Love is very patient and kind …”
The word, “kind,” in this passage means: to show oneself useful, to act benevolently. A kind person is not only mild and gentle, they act selflessly, generously, and altruistically—that is, they initiate actions for the good of others. These actions include loving gestures, generosity, and self-sacrificing acts of service for the sole benefit of the other person. This is precisely how God has acted towards us in Jesus, and it is how he wants his love in us to be expressed to others:
(Titus 3:4–7 NKJV) “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, {5} not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, {6} whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, {7} that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
From this passage, the first attribute we learn about God’s kind love is that it takes initiative; his kindness and love “appeared” (became apparent) when he acted. So, God not only “feels” love towards us, he has revealed this through the most loving action possible; he “saved us.” What’s more, he did this without us having to earn or deserve it: “according to his mercy he saved us.” Now, he wants us to exhibit kind love to others:
(Galatians 2:10 TLB) “… we must always remember to help the poor …”
(Matthew 19:21 NKJV) Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
(James 1:27 AMPC) “…visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need …”
Because of the kind achievements of his love, God has provided for us “washing,” “regeneration,” and “renewing of the Holy Spirit.” However, he not only provided this amazing new start; through Jesus he has “poured out on us abundantly” his wonderful Spirit of holiness. The manifested Holy Spirit on us enables us to live a powerful and holy life—just like Jesus.
Imagine; we now, through faith and his grace, can love like he loves. In other words, we can act with loving kindness towards others just like he has towards us. We don’t need to be coerced into it, or begged for it; we can take the initiative to reach out to others with acts of loving-kindness:
(Luke 6:35 NKJV) “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.”
(Ephesians 4:32 NKJV) “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Admittedly, this sounds challenging. But God loved us kindly when we were his enemies; he initiated the most kind, loving action; Jesus died for us when we were still sinners (Rom. 5:8). We now have that same “kind” love in us. That’s why we can truly be God’s children, and lavish on others undeserved kind and self-sacrificing actions.
“Your reward will be great.” The eternal reward for loving enemies and being kind like God is legendary. But he also implies a bonus in those around us here and now. When we imitate God’s kind, loving actions towards his and our enemies, we also get his intended outcome: the softening of their hearts, which can lead them to repentance; everyone wins:
(Romans 2:4 NLT) “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?”
When we emulate God’s kind love for those who don’t deserve it—like he did for us in Jesus—this can “turn” them from their sin. They may be the “unthankful and evil” or even our “enemies” when we initiate the kindness, but imitating God’s approach is the only way to precipitate change in them. After all,
